Ahead of the Curve

Investing is about anticipating the next move. So what’s next?

I’ve said again and again that we are in a slow growth recovery. The economy isn’t booming and it isn’t falling off a cliff. Forget the nonsense you hear about economic stall speeds, or a bicycle falling over if it doesn’t move. The economy isn’t an airplane and it isn’t a bicycle. It’s a complex network of relationships among buyers and sellers of goods and services. If it doesn’t go forward it goes backward (recession). There is no magic number where growth stops, just like there’s no Magic 8-Ball that predicts the future.

What’s holding the economy back right now is income growth. Aggregate real disposable household income has only growth around 2% per year since it contracted during the recession. This slow growth is being fed by a slowly growing workforce and slowing productivity growth. Since the only way to improve labor productivity is to invest in capital to equip workers with new technology, business investment holds the key for economic revival.

These aren’t problems that can be addressed via Operation Twist or fiscal stimulus or reforming Medicare. They’re structural issues. The good news is that Congress has tried to address them before. The bad news is the deficit Supercommittee is highly political and could fail to propose needed reforms.

But this is where we’re going: technological investment that spurs productivity and higher incomes. It can happen, but we need structural improvements.
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Mr. Tengdin is the Chief Investment Officer at Charter Trust Company and author of “The Global Market Update”. The audio version of each post can be heard on radio stations throughout New England every weekday. Mr. Tengdin graduated from Dartmouth College, Magna Cum Laude. He received his Master of Arts from Trinity Divinity School, Magna Cum Laude and received his Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation in 1992. Mr. Tengdin has been managing investment portfolios for over 30 years, working for Bank of Boston, State Street Global Advisors, Citibank – Tunisia, and Banknorth Group. Throughout his career, Mr. Tengdin has emphasized helping clients manage their financial risks in difficult environments where they can profit from investing in diverse assets in diverse settings. -
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